HM Treasury

Equitable Life Payment Scheme

Lord Deighton: My honourable friend the Economic Secretary to the Treasury (Andrea Leadsom) has today made the following Written Ministerial Statement. As of 31 January 2015, the Scheme has now issued payments surpassing £1 billion to 896,367 policyholders.   The figures are broken down as follows:   412,445 payments to individual investors have been issued totalling £560.3 million.   37,764 With-Profits Annuitants (WPAs) or their estates have been issued payments by the Scheme. These Initial and subsequent payments total £271.4 million.   446,158 payments totalling £169.3 million have been issued to those who bought their policy through their company pension scheme.   There are now approximately 142,000 policyholders who are due a payment but where the Scheme has not yet been able to trace or validate their address.   The Scheme has gone to significant lengths to trace eligible policyholders. It remains committed to tracing and paying as many eligible policyholders as possible, and will continue to consider all proportionate actions it can take to do this, including working with the Department for Work and Pensions.   The Scheme encourages any policyholders who believe themselves to be eligible to call the Scheme on: 0300 0200 150. The Scheme can verify the identity of most policyholders on the telephone, which means any payment due can usually be received within two weeks. 


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS298

Ministry of Justice

North Wales Prison

Lord Faulks: My honourable friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, Minister for Prisons, Probation and Rehabilitation (Andrew Selous) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement."The construction of the new prison in North Wales is already underway as part of the Prison New Capacity and Unit Cost Programmes. I can confirm that the new prison will be operated by Her Majesty’s Prison Service (HMPS) but with 34% of service provision outsourced, including the running of the large industrial workshop complex. This new model will bring the public, voluntary and private sectors together, working to provide the best rehabilitative environment and to tackle re-offending rates. The prison will provide 2,106 male Category C places for offenders from North Wales and North West England, and will have a small remand function serving the courts in North Wales. The first houseblock will start to take prisoners from early 2017. In addition to places for education and resettlement, there will be 12 large workshop spaces that can be used flexibly for a range of work and skills training activities and a recycling unit. This new prison will enable offenders to be held closer to home, allowing better support for their rehabilitation and reintegration into their communities on release.The decision to allow HMPS to operate the prison reflects the success of the Prison Unit Cost Programme which will save £300m per annum from prison budgets by 2015/16 and reduces unit costs by £2,200 per place. The innovative approach we are taking in North Wales provides value for the taxpayer, makes best use of the considerable public sector expertise in running safe and decent prisons and will draw on the core strengths of the public, private and voluntary sectors to achieve the best results. It will incorporate the learning and good practice from previous prison mobilisations to ensure that it operates efficiently while providing prisoners with a robust and effective regime to assist them to address their offending behaviour.This £212m investment in constructing the prison is a significant opportunity for North Wales, with the project set to boost the regional economy by around £23m a year and create up to 1,000 jobs once operational. The Ministry of Justice has been working closely with Welsh devolved health and education services to develop suitable models for the prison and will continue to work with the Welsh Government and other partners to agree the necessary resourcing as delivery requirements are finalised.Our estate strategy will achieve long term cost reduction in the prison estate through the policy of ‘New for Old’ – this means replacing uneconomic prison places with modern, fit for purpose accommodation at much lower cost. The National Audit Office has stated that “The strategy for the prison estate is the most coherent and comprehensive for many years, has quickly cut operating costs, and is a significant improvement in value for money on the approaches of the past.” The North Wales prison will provide good quality prison accommodation that delivers value for the taxpayer as a result of the low cost per place. Creating a modern low cost prison estate is essential to further reduce the overall cost of the prison system."


This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS297

Cabinet Office

The Report of the Triennial Review of the Civil Service Commission - A Better Civil Service

Lord Wallace of Saltaire: My Right Honourable friend the Minister for Cabinet Office and Paymaster General (Francis Maude) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement: Lord Wallace of Saltaire announced on 29 July 2014 that the Government had asked Sir Gerry Grimstone to lead a triennial review of the Civil Service Commission. I am now pleased to announce the completion of the review. The Commission plays an important role providing assurance that selection to appointments in the Civil Service is on merit and hearing and determining appeals made under the Civil Service Code. The review concludes that the functions performed by the Commission are still required and that it should be retained as an executive non-departmental public body. The review also looked at whether its remit should be extended or amended to support the Civil Service in facing its future challenges. The report makes 31 recommendations. The Government welcomes the review and thanks Sir Gerry for his work. The Government will consider its recommendations carefully. In the course of his review, Sir Gerry consulted with a wide range of stakeholders and ensured there was independent challenge. I would like to thank all contributors and Sir Gerry for his work on this review, and his useful report.  The full report of the triennial review of the Civil Service Commission – “A Better Civil Service” can be found on Gov.uk and copies have been placed in the Libraries of both Houses.



A Better Civil Service
(PDF Document, 774.66 KB)





This statement has also been made in the House of Commons: 
HCWS296